In recent days, social media has been flooded with information related to the training and awarding of a doctoral degree in law to research student Vuong Tan Viet (born in 1959, Thich Chan Quang) at Hanoi Law University.

Among the questions raised was why Thich Chan Quang was able to defend his doctoral thesis in December 2021, while he had only received his part-time bachelor's degree in law in January 2019.

Regarding this matter, Hanoi Law University has issued a report. The University of Law stated that before applying for postgraduate studies, student Vuong Tan Viet graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English in 2001 from the University of Foreign Languages ​​(now Hanoi University); and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Law in 2019 from Hanoi Law University (second degree – part-time study).

Specifically, in 2017, he was admitted to the second degree program in Law, Course 1, part-time study format, offered by Hanoi Law University at Bach Viet College, Ho Chi Minh City (admitted to the part-time university program).

On January 15, 2019, Mr. Thich Chan Quang was recognized as having graduated and was awarded a Bachelor of Law degree (second degree – part-time study), with a distinction in his graduation classification.

On November 26, 2019, he was admitted as a postgraduate student to cohort 25B (academic year 2019-2023) according to Decision 4567/QD-DHLHN of Hanoi Law University.

On December 26, 2019, he was recognized as a doctoral student under Decision 5114/QD-DHLHN of Hanoi Law University, majoring in Constitutional and Administrative Law.

On December 9, 2021, this doctoral candidate successfully defended their dissertation at the university level at Hanoi Law University.

On March 17, 2022, Mr. Thich Chan Quang was awarded a doctorate in Constitutional and Administrative Law according to Decision No. 1141/QD-DHLHN of Hanoi Law University.

Regarding information related to the doctoral training of Venerable Thich Chan Quang, Hanoi Law University stated that on June 7, 2019, the university issued admission notice No. 2190/TBTS-ĐHLHN regarding the second round of doctoral student recruitment in 2019.

Accordingly: “Applicants for doctoral program admission must meet the following conditions: 1. Possess one of the following qualifications:

a) A Master's degree in Law in the same or a different field as the one for which the candidate is applying. If a candidate holds a Master's degree in Law in a field different from the one for which the candidate is applying, after being admitted, the candidate must complete supplementary courses at the Master's level in the doctoral program for which they were admitted.

b) A Bachelor of Law degree with a distinction or higher from a domestic university (assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training to train Bachelor of Law, Economic Law, International Law, and International Commercial Law)....”

However, on September 30, 2019, Hanoi Law University issued a notice correcting the information regarding the eligibility requirements for doctoral students in the second round of doctoral student admissions in 2019 to conform with Decision No. 261/QD-DHLHN.

Accordingly, the information regarding the "admission requirements for doctoral students" in Point b, Section 3 of the admission announcement No. 2190/TBTS-ĐHLHN is corrected as follows: "3. Admission requirements for doctoral students: Possess one of the following degrees: b) A Bachelor of Law degree with a distinction or higher, awarded by domestic universities (assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training to train Bachelor's degree holders in law, economic law, international law, or international commercial law)."

Regarding eligibility and conditions for admission, Hanoi Law University stated that student Vuong Tan Viet is eligible to apply for the doctoral program at Hanoi Law University. Specifically, student Vuong Tan Viet graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree with a distinction.

Regarding admission, student Vuong Tan Viet meets the requirements for direct entry into the doctoral program, specifically: He holds a bachelor's degree in law with honors; he is the author of one scientific paper published in the proceedings of a peer-reviewed international scientific conference in 2017; and he possesses English language proficiency as evidenced by his bachelor's degree in English.

This candidate was admitted according to Decision 4567/QD-DHLHN dated November 26, 2019, of Hanoi Law University and was recognized as a doctoral student according to Decision 5114/QD-DHLHN dated December 26, 2019, of Hanoi Law University, in the field of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

Regarding the training process

Hanoi Law University stated that, regarding the completion of supplementary knowledge for doctoral students without a master's degree, from December 2019 to June 2021, doctoral student Vuong Tan Viet fully completed the master's degree program (including 43 credits of courses in his major/specialization out of a total of 60 credits (12 credits for thesis and 5 credits for foreign language were waived according to the provisions of point b, clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 8/2017)).

Additionally, from 2020 to 2021, the doctoral student completed 7 modules of the doctoral training program.

Regarding the evaluation of doctoral dissertations and dissertation defense, in the case of student Vuong Tan Viet, Hanoi Law University, the following information was provided: the doctoral candidate had completed the supplementary courses and doctoral-level courses; had published two papers in a foreign language in peer-reviewed international conference proceedings; had received approval from the supervisor or research team to register for dissertation evaluation at the specialized unit; and had completed the defense of the general review topic and three dissertation topics.

Additionally, on June 15, 2021, he completed providing feedback on the doctoral dissertation in the department.

On September 26, 2021, he defended his thesis at the unit level (basic level).

On October 3, 2021, the doctoral candidate submitted an application to defend their dissertation at the university level. On December 3, 2021, the doctoral candidate defended their dissertation at the university level.

Regarding the awarding of the doctoral degree, Hanoi Law University stated that the doctoral candidate had completed the training program. On January 20th and 24th, 2022, the candidate submitted his dissertation to the Hanoi Law University Library and the National Library. On March 17th, 2022, he was awarded the doctoral degree according to Decision No. 1141/QD-DHLHN of Hanoi Law University.

Regarding the doctoral training period, Hanoi Law University stated that the doctoral candidate has completed the training program. Furthermore, the doctoral candidate's dissertation has been recommended by the specialized unit for evaluation by the university-level dissertation evaluation council; the dissertation has also been approved by independent reviewers.

On October 3, 2021, he submitted an application to shorten his training period; a request to defend his thesis at the university level, which was approved by the university.

On November 1, 2021, the university issued a decision establishing a university-level doctoral dissertation defense committee for doctoral candidate Vuong Tan Viet. On December 9, 2021, the doctoral candidate successfully defended his dissertation at the university level. On March 17, 2022, the doctoral candidate was awarded his doctorate degree.

The university stated that, as mentioned above, the total training time for student Vuong Tan Viet, from the time he was recognized as a doctoral student (December 2019) to the time he received the decision to be awarded his doctoral degree (March 2022), was 2 years and 3 months.

This period meets and complies with the regulations on doctoral training as stipulated in Circular 08/2017/TT-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training and Decision 261/QD-DHLHN of the university.

Today, June 25th, the Ministry of Education and Training sent a letter to Hanoi Law University requesting a report on the admission and training process of doctoral candidate Vuong Tan Viet, also known as Venerable Thich Chan Quang.

"Currently, there is conflicting information regarding the admission, training, and awarding of a doctoral degree to Mr. Vuong Tan Viet at Hanoi Law University. To obtain complete information, the Ministry of Education and Training requests Hanoi Law University to urgently report specifically on the admission and training process for the doctoral program (including the submission of peer review documents, thesis defense, etc.) and provide supporting evidence for Mr. Vuong Tan Viet's application," the official document states.

The controversy surrounding Thich Chan Quang obtaining his PhD early has been raised; what does Hanoi Law University have to say about this?

The controversy surrounding Thich Chan Quang obtaining his PhD early has been raised; what does Hanoi Law University have to say about this?

Representatives from Hanoi Law University stated that Venerable Thich Chan Quang completed his doctoral program ahead of schedule. The training and recognition of his doctoral degree followed all the steps stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training.